Wardrobe-trunk.



H. W. ROUNTREB.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLICATION FILED 23.10, 1911.

Patented Min. 26, 1912.

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witnesses H. W. ROUNTRBE.

WARDROBE TRUNK.

I APPLICATION FILED 11:13.10, 1911. 1,021,070. Pat'ented Mar.26, 1912.

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COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPN C0" WASHINGTON. D. C-

H. W. ROUNTREE. WARDROBE TRUNK.

APPLIOATION FILED PEBJO, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912. a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY W. ROUN'I'REE, 0F RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HENRY W. COTTREL'L, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

WARDROBE-TRUN K.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 10, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. ROUN- renn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Richmond, county of Henrico, and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVardrobe- Trunks, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved trunk opened up to show the manner of its use as a wardrobe; Fig. 2 a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the trunk closed; Fig. 3 a detail perspective view of the wardrobe section removed; Fig. 4: a horizontal sectional view taken through the handlefixture attached to the top end-wall of the trunk; Fig. 5 a transverse sectional view of the trunk, with its lid raised; Fig. 6 a detail perspective view of the presser frame carried by the wardrobe section; and Fig. 7 a detail vertical sectional view of thehand-lefixture.

The principal object of this invention is to so construct and arrange an upwardlyswinging wardrobe tray or section that it shall have a maximum capacity and at the same time permit the body of the trunk to be made of a length not materially if any greater than ordinary trunks, the construction being such that when the trunk is closed the garments in the wardrobe section will be prevented from being mussed and when opened the garments will be in position to be readily placed in the wardrobe section and removed there-from, a special feature of importance being that any one of the garment hangers may be removed and replaced without disturbing the others; as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Another feature of importance is the provision of a fixture at the top end of the trunk, that is, that end of the trunk which is adjacent to the hanger-end of the wardrobe section, which serves the double purpose of a handle and as a protuberance or hump which will prevent the trunk being stood on any end other than its lower end, so that in handling the trunk it will always be stood on its low-er end when it is stood on end at all.

Another feature lies in the provision of a simple and improved presser frame for use in the wardrobe section, whereby the clos- .ing down of the lid of the trunk will force the presser plate wit-h a resilient action against the garments holding them firmly in place, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

The trunk body a is constructed in the usual or any improved manner except that its front wall at one end is formed into a door I), which door ishinged to the adjacent end wall of the trunk and is adapted to swing horizontally and furthermore is provided with any suitable looks or latches 0. This door forms the front wall of a space formed at the end of the trunk by a vertical partition d rigidly fastened within the trunk and terminating at a suitable distance below the top edges of the trunk walls. Between this partition and the opposite end of the trunk the usual tray e may be arranged or any other suitable construction may be employed in that part of the trunk.

The wardrobe section or tray of the trunk extends from the partition Wall to the opposite end of the trunk and lies above the trunk tray proper. This wardrobe section consists of a back wall f, a side Wall 9 and an open top-frame h, which latter frame is substantially rectangular and carries the transverse rodz' on which the coat and suit hangers are dctachably mounted. This tray 13 open its entire length at its outer side and also along the front side adjacent to the front wall of the trunk body. Suitable straps j are provided for holding the garments in place. The wall f is braced by two metal straps is running its full length and connected at their lower ends by a metal strap Z, and this metal frame carries one of the pivots m, which pivots have suitable hearings in the trunk walls. The bottom edge of the tray is stiffened by a metal strap 42, and the front edge of its side wall is strengthened by a vertical strap 0, and this strap at its lower end carries the other pivot m. An oblique metal brace p braces the top frame it to the side wall 9. It will be understood however that the tray may be con-. structed and braced in any other suitable manner.

On the rear face of the side wall 9 is fastened a latch bolt 9 which normally bears against the inner face of a strip 1' fastened to the inner side of the front wall of the trunk body and provided with an opening for the reception of the bolt, as shown in Fig. 1, when the Wardrobe tray is raised to a vertical position. This bolt therefore will serve to automatically lockthe tray in its raised position, holding it in that position securely until it is withdrawn for the purpose of permitting the tray to drop back into the trunk. The strip 1' projects far enough above the upper edge of the trunk wall to form the front wall of the tray when the tray is down in the trunk.

Itwill be observed that with my construction the space formed at the lower end of the trunk by the partition cl becomes a part of the wardrobe space of the trunk, so that when the wardrobe section is swung to a vertical position there will be ample room for the longest garments. It will be observed also that with my construction any one of the garment hangers may be removed and replaced without removing or displacing the other garment hangers, this insertion and removal of the garment hangers being accomplished through the open front-edge of the tray and being greatly facilitated by the opening of the door Z). In this way I avoid mutilation of the end wall of the trunk and also avoid the necessity of employing extensible garment hangers adapted to be drawn outwardly beyond the end wall of the trunk. The garment hangers can be of any suitable variety except that in every case they will be hung to the rod 2' in such a manner that they may be readily removed therefrom without the necessity of sliding them off either end of the rod; in the drawing I illustrate the preferred hanger which is provided with an open hook which may be conveniently lifted off the rod 2' and the hanger and its garments easily removed edge-wisely from the wardrobe space.

The resser frame 8 consists of a pair of longitudinal bars and a series of transverse bars, the whole being adapted to be detachably hung from the hanger rod 2' by means of a suitable snap hook t engaged in a ring u on the hanger bar. Mounted on this frame 8 is a bow spring 2) provided with an eye 10 at its upper end adapting it to be slid onto a pin w fastened to the upper cross bar and lying parallel with its face. The lower end of the spring is provided with a pin on whose projecting ends are adapted to engage under a pair of separated keepers y fastened to the front side of one of the lower cross bars of the frame. Fastened to the convex side of this spring is a bearing plate 2. The normal tendency of the spring draws up the pin .r until it engages the upper ends of the keepers, and when pressure is brought to bear upon the plate 2 by the lid of the trunk,

the spring is caused to somewhat flatten, and the keepers y are long enough to permit the lower end of the spring to have the necessary sliding action. In this way when the trunk lid is down, the presser frame 8 will be forced against the clothing carried by the hangers and will thus serve to hold the clothing properly in place during the handling of the trunk.

hen the wardrobe is well filled with clothing, the presser frame may be entirely removed by detaching the snap hook t from the frame to, or simply the spring 0 may be detached from the presser frame, this detaching of the spring being easily accomplished by pressing upon the plate 2 sufficiently to bring the pin 00 down about midway the length of the keepers y, whereupon the lower end of the spring will be sufliciently free to permit the eye to to be slid off its pin 00.

Another feature of this invention consists in applying a fixture to the top end wall of the trunk which will at once serve as a handle and at the same time as a rigid protuberance which will prevent the trunk being stood upon that end, thus not only providing for conveniently handling the trunk but also providing the trunk with means whereby when it is stood on end the person handling the trunk will be required to place it upon that end of the trunk which will insure the proper hanging of the garments in the wardrobe section or tray. This device consists of a bow or arch-shaped rigid handle piece a having its ends rigidly fastened to the end wall of the trunk, and a rigid brace b rigidly connecting the handle piece midway its ends to the adjacent wall of the trunk. This spacing and bracing part b is preferably a metal tube held in place be tween the trunk and the handle by means of a bolt 0 attached to the handle and pass ing through the tube and the adjacent part of the trunk. The inner or lower end of the tube bears against the face of one. of the lock fixtures (Z and the bolt 0 passes therethrough. In this way a very simple rigid hump is formed on the top end Wall of the trunk and this hump is of such a nature that it may be readily used in lieu of the usual handle at that end of the trunk.

I wish it understood that I make no claim in this patent to any subject matter which is common to this patent and my copending application Serial No. 609,525, filed Feb. 18, 1911, the generic claim for this type of trunk being embodied in said copending application. This broad subject matter consisting, in combination with a trunk, of a wardrobe section pivoted between the front and back walls of the trunk near one end thereof, the wardrobe section being thereby adapted to swing from a horizontal position within the trunk to a vertical position, means for holding the wardrobe section in a vertical position, said -wardrobe section having its front edge open and being provided with a garment supporting rod in its top lying substantially parallel with the front wall of the trunk, the front wall of the trunk being provided with a door seetion coincident with said open front edge of the wardrobe section, whereby when the Wardrobe section is raised to a vertical posi tion the garment shall hang Within the trunk and any one of the garment hangers may be withdrawn edgewisely out through the front of the trunk without removing any of the other hangers or mussing the garments thereon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In combination with a trunk, of a wardrobe :tray pivoted at its lower end within the trunk and adapted to fold down into the trunk, said tray consisting of a top frame carrying a transverse hanger bar, a back wall, and a rear edge wall, the front edge of the tray being open, and a wall or strip r attached to the front wall of the trunk and projecting above the same, whereby when the wardrobe section is folded down into the trunk said strip or wall 1* will constitute one of the side walls of the wardrobe section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY W. ROUNTREE. Witnesses:

CHARLES D. DAVIS, CHARLES Lownnn HOWARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washingtoml). G. 

